James R. Bath
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James Reynolds Bath was a former director of BCCI, and part owner of Arbusto Energy. Arbusto was formed by George W. Bush, with whom Bath served as a member of the Texas Air National Guard. Like Bush, Bath was suspended from flying status in 1972 for failing to accomplish his annual medical examination.
Bath got his start in real estate in 1973 by forming a partnership with Lloyd Bentsen's son, Lan Bentsen. The company was named Bath Bentsen Interests.
It has been reported that in 1976 George H. W. Bush recruited Bath into the CIA, a claim that Bath denied in 1991 in an article published in Time magazine.
In 1976 Bath purchased the Houston Gulf Airport on behalf of Salem bin Laden, a Saudi sheik. Bath was the representative of Salem bin Laden, according to this document (http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/salem-bath-trust-agreement.jpg). In 1990, a Saudi banker named Khalid bin Mahfouz procured a loan of $1.4 million for Bath, allowing him to buy a stake in the airport. When bin Laden died in 1988, his interest in the airfield passed to Mahfouz.
In 1978, Bath became a Director of the Main Bank, based in Houston, Texas. His fellow investors were John Connally; Saudi financier Ghaith R. Pharaon; and Mahfouz.
Bath founded Southwest Airport Services to manage the Houston Gulf Airport, and to provide military fueling services at Ellington Field. He also served as president of the Skyway Aircraft Leasing company, registered in the Cayman Islands. The company acted as a supplier of large passenger and air cargo jets. At one point, it leased a $10 million Gulfstream II jet to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., which is controlled by Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. Bath's partners in Skyway and his other companies are unknown.
Bath's discharge from the National Guard and his relationships to the bin Laden family and Arbusto were among the issues explored in the documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11.
External link
- James R. Bath entry on the Modern History Project (http://www.modernhistoryproject.org/mhp/EntityDisplay.php?Entity=BathJR)
- Salem-Bath trust agreement (http://www.michaelmoore.com/_media/images/documents/salem-bath-trust-agreement.jpg)